1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to antimicrobial compositions. Even more particularly the present invention concerns the use of antimicrobial compositions and the treatment of gastritis. Most particularly, the present invention concerns the use of food grade components in antimicrobial compositions for the treatment of gastritis.
2. Prior Art
It has been theorized that the gram negative bacterium H. pylori, previously referred to in the art as campylobacter pyloridis, is the cause of gastric and duodenal ulceration associated with chronic gastritis. Further, individuals infected with H. pylori have been observed to have an increased rate of gastric cancer. Therefore, a simple efficacious manner of eliminating this bacterium from the system would be more advantageous.
As is known, H. pylori is found at the epithelial cell junctions beneath the mucus layer of the stomach and is, therefore, thought to be effectively killed by systemic exposure to antibiotics as well as by direct luminal contact, thus, curing gastric and duodenal ulceration and decreasing the incidence of recurrence. Because of the observed and potential development of antibiotic resistant strains of H. pylori and the difficulty of penetrating the hydrophobic gastric mucus, coupled with the observed failure or ineffectiveness of single antibiotic therapy, the combination of 2 or 3 antibiotics is typically used.
Further, the administration of large doses of antibiotic exposes the patient to the risk of developing opportunistic infections with other antibiotics resistant organisms.
Yet, treatment other than with antibiotics for the elimination of H. pylori has not been readily perceived heretofore, because the elimination of H. pylori from the gastric mucosa is difficult for several reasons. First, it is difficult to prove that the bacteria is even present in the stomach. Therefore, it is equally difficult to monitor when it has been eliminated. Second, while H. pylori is normally killed by low pH, it has been observed to penetrate the mucus layer covering the gastric mucosa, which has a neutral pH. The gastric mucus acts as an unstirred layer and contains bicarbonate ions which buffer the layer, protecting the bacterium from the normal gastric, luminal pH of about 2 to about 4. Third, as noted above, a single antibiotic is frequently ineffective in eliminating H. pylori from the stomach.
As high as 10% of the population in the United States suffers from chronic inflammation of the stomach and duodenum in their lifetime. While nearly all patients with chronic gastritis have H. pylori infections, not all cases of H. pylori gastritis are associated with ulceration. Therefore, exposure of patients to the several and significant risks involved in triple antibiotic therapy is not warranted without sufficient testing to demonstrate the presence of H. pylori infection and associated ulceration.
As detailed hereinafter, the present invention provides a simple inexpensive way of treating H. pylori.